


I Won't Say I'm In Love

by Defira



Series: In Her Shadows [8]
Category: Star Wars: The Old Republic
Genre: Aromantic, Aromantic Character, Aromanticism, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-24
Updated: 2013-10-24
Packaged: 2017-12-30 08:02:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1016136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Defira/pseuds/Defira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tahrin and Vette fight their way across Voss and reflect on the time they've spent together since they first met on Korriban. Of course, when the topic of love comes up, it leaves Tahrin with some uncomfortable food for thought. </p>
<p>Thankfully, Pierce is happy to set the matter straight for her.  </p>
<p>Written for Asexual Awareness Week.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Won't Say I'm In Love

Tahrin crouched down behind the embankment, pressing a hand to her side as she fought to catch her breath; beside her, Vette ducked out of cover for a brief moment, sending a spray of bullets up the hill against the gormak warriors blocking their way forward. She laughed merrily at the furious howls that echoed back down to them, before dropping down beside her master to give her blaster a moment to recharge. 

“Sooo,” Vette said, sidling up beside her with a smug grin on her face. “You and Pierce. Sith and soldier. Master and-”

Tahrin grimaced, but the question wasn’t as irksome as she’d expected it to be. She’d been anticipating it for a while now. “Vette, you have been reading cheap erotic novels again, haven’t you?”

“Hey, space is boring, okay? Sometimes a girl has to find a way to pass the time.”

“And here I was thinking that my apprentice was rather involved in helping you to pass the time.”

Vette’s cheeks coloured, but her grin widened. “Touché,” she said, apparently unperturbed by the observation. “But, hey, I can’t take up all of the poor girl’s time- sometimes we have to tear ourselves apart so she can learn all your big bad sith secrets.”

She learned around their cover again and took out another two gormak; Tahrin followed a moment after, sending her lightsabers spinning violently towards the remaining warriors. There was a violent hiss at the contact and a screech of pain, and then the smell of burning flesh as the creatures toppled to the ground in pieces. Tahrin held out her hands and expertly caught the lightsabers as they returned to her. 

“Do you love him?”

The question was so abrupt that she nearly missed catching them, and she hissed in a breath when she jarred a finger. “I beg your pardon?” she snapped, rubbing at the joint through her gloves.

“Do you looooove him?” Vette said, making exaggerated kissing gestures as she stepped delicately over to the bodies and began to rummage through the pouches. “Pierce- does he set fire to your heart and your loins?”

Tahrin felt her cheeks redden. “He is an outstanding soldier and I find that my performance in the field is optimised with his support-” 

“Oh my god, that is the most unromantic answer in the history of everything ever,” Vette said, throwing her hands in the air in frustration. “That wasn’t what I asked _at all_.”

“Romance has very little to do with my appreciation of Lieutenant Pierce,” she said stiltedly, setting her weapons back on her belt and crossing her arms. “He is an excellent companion and I trust and respect him.”

“Do you love him?”

“We are sexually compatible, yes.”

“You are the most obtuse woman in the galaxy,” Vette said, rolling her eyes. “And I absolutely did not want to know that.”

“Well then, what is the purpose of your queries?”

Vette made a sound of frustration. “I don’t know, I guess... I want to know that you’re happy? After all these years together, watching your emotional development continue at the speed of a glacier-”

Tahrin felt an odd surge of what she assumed could only be shame, hot and uncomfortable. “I was not aware that my emotionally stunted growth was a cause of concern for you,” she said coldly. 

“No, no, okay back up.” Vette held her hands out in entreaty. “You don’t stand there and analyse people out loud anymore, you don’t stare blankly at people when you miss their sarcasm, sometimes you smile- you’ve _changed_ , Tahrin. That’s not a bad thing.” 

Somewhat placated, she said stiltedly “I still fail to see how any of this is a logical progression for a conversation.”

Vette stuffed a handful of credits into her vest, liberating them from the dead gormak. “Okay, well, in any normal world this would be one sister nudging the other in the ribs and asking about her new boyfriend, but apparently the merriment doesn’t translate so well when it’s you we’re talking about.”

“Why is it so important to you that I coo and sigh over the man?” Tahrin asked. “I appreciate Gabriel immensely, and I will be the first to admit that I am strangely fiercely protective of him, but he is completely capable of defending himself. He does not need me to coddle him, and I require no such nonsense from him in turn.”

“But being in love-”

“You and Jaesa express your affection for one another in your own way, and I do not question you relentlessly about it,” she said pointedly, “despite my warning against your involvement.”

“Yeah, thanks for that,” Vette said, sounding pained. 

“Gabriel and I have an understanding, a companionship, and we enjoy one another sexually. And, I must say, one of his best features is that he does not constantly pry at me for some apparently obligatory emotional development.” 

Vette held her hands up in defeat. “Okay, I can take a hint,” she said, sighing. “You know I love you, and I just want you to be happy.”

“A strange attachment that I am still growing accustomed to,” Tahrin said, softening a little. “Your wellbeing and safety are paramount to me too.”

Vette slung an arm around her as they headed wearily back towards the Imperial outpost. “I love you too,” she said. 

____ 

“See, to me, this is just further evidence that you get sloppy when I’m not around,” Pierce said, rubbing the bacta salve over her bruised ribs. “Take me with you, you like to show off a little, be a little fancy-”

She winced, despite his gentle touch. “Need I remind you, Pierce, that I very nearly died under your watchful eye, both on Alderaan and on Quesh. I’d hardly be inclined to suggest your presence somehow protects me from harm.”

He chuckled, and she smiled slightly at the sound. “Can’t blame a guy for trying, eh? I mean, your little bub Jaesa’s alright company- bit too perky for my tastes really- but there’s only so many conversations I can have with your dear captain before I want to put a blaster to his face.”

“Your sterling ability to deny such desires is commendable,” she said, letting him pull her tunic back down again now that her injuries had been tended to. He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, his bristles rubbing at her skin, before he climbed to his feet and headed over to her desk to set the salve aside. She watched him go, admiring the way his muscles moved beneath his skin, the way his pants hung low on narrow hips. He’d discarded his own shirt some time ago, and her eyes traced over the scars and the tattoos on his back. 

Vette’s words had been lingering all day, nagging at her in moments of quiet, and as he turned back to her, she felt them more keenly than ever.

She sat back on her legs, hands on her knees as she faced him. He raised an eyebrow at her, clearly aware she had something on her mind. 

“Gabriel,” she said, his name already awkward in her mouth. “I... love you.”

The eyebrow stayed up. “Do you now?” he asked after a moment, the rumble of his voice somehow soothing. He pushed off the desk and wandered back to the bed, massive arms crossed over an equally massive chest. 

Her tongue felt a hundred times too big for her mouth. “Yes,” she said hesitantly. “That is... that is precisely what I feel.”

His sceptical expression told her precisely how convincing he found her abrupt confession of love. “So, for the last three months, the extent of your affection has been thank you and the occasional smile, and now you suddenly decide you love me?”

If she were the wincing type, she imagined she’d be cringing about now. “Is it not an appropriate declaration?” she said, somewhat defensively. “Should I not-”

“Tahrin, that ain’t your style,” he said earnestly, the humour dropping from his eyes as he sank back down onto the bed and put his hands over hers. They were warm, and they dwarfed her hands, fingers blunt and thick and calloused, nails square and short; she knew those hands intimately, knew each scar and freckle that mapped his skin. “Sweetheart, look- I don’t need some fancy declaration to keep me in my place. I ain’t going anywhere until you tell me otherwise.”

Tahrin swallowed. “Most men would not take the risk of courting a sith lord without-”

His bark of laughter startled her. “Stars above, lass, you make me sound like some nancy who gives a shit,” he said, leaning forward to cup her cheek in his hand. His thumb brushed over her scars. “We can call this courting if you want, but I ain’t under any illusion as to what I’ve got myself into. We’re good together, Tahrin, and I’ll take that anyway you want it to be.”

“What if I said I wanted to marry you,” she said, somewhat defiantly, trying to throw him off balance. 

He shrugged, a grin on his face. “I’d marry you,” he said simply. “Or not. Whatever makes you happy.”

She felt the most absurd urge to cry, and she fought it back. It was one of the hardest battles she’d ever fought in her life. “You have no preference then,” she said, her voice coldly controlled. 

Pierce leaned in a kissed her, his hand gentle on her face as she slowly relaxed into him. When he coaxed her back against the bed, she went willingly. “Thought it was obvious, m’lord,” he said in a whisper against her mouth. “ _You’re_ my preference.”

“Have you been reading Vette’s terrible erotic novels too?”

He chuckled, and she could feel him smile. “Hey, it’s boring when you’re not around, lass.”


End file.
